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So, we’ve only seen 2 episodes of #TheBachelorSA, and already the claws have come out, Tenjiwa was very open about her accusations towards Michelle Reddy and how she felt about her so-called ‘Belle’ performance and lack of authenticity. We saw Michelle take flight – literally out onto the mean streets of Sandton (although to be honest, it was probably much safer out there than inside!)

But we’re here to hear more from Lucy, Dalean and Milisha – the three ladies who didn’t receive roses from Bachelor Lee Thompson in the Rose Ceremony and who sadly had to say goodbye to their chances of ‘happily ever after’ with him and to the new friends they’d made in the Bachelor House.Lucy Thompson made an unforgettable entrance onto The Bachelor with twin sister Sandy, complete with matching gold dresses, to Lee’s utter surprise. Reactions of shock and disbelief met the girls as they entered the House together for the first time. But unfortunately Sandy dropped at the first hurdle, and although Lucy said that she was sad when this happened, realising they wouldn’t be furthering the journey together, she acknowledged the fact that they are extremely different – something they knew going in. They don’t have similar taste in men and have never fought over a guy before.

Lucy had watched so many seasons of the overseas versions so she jumped at the chance to enter the SA edition.

Daneal and Milisha both had similar reasons for entering. After exploring so many of the traditional avenues of the dating game, they both felt that checking out an alternative way to meet someone might be worth it.

Daneal spoke about her first impression, getting out the limousine and those nerves that hit you! I can’t even imagine what it must feel like! She continued with genuine honesty about what the first cocktail party felt like when everyone was sussing everyone else out – knowing that they were the competition. But then, once things settled down (the cameras aren’t actually on you 24/7 – this isn’t ‘that other reality show’), the claws aren’t out all the time and being thrown together – without your cellphones (I was shocked – it was something I hadn’t even thought about) – in such close proximity, forces you to form bonds a lot quicker and a lot deeper than you normally would.

All three girls mentioned the strong connections that have been formed between the competitors, and they truly feel that the friendships they’ve created (even in the short space of time they were in the House), are lifelong ones. Lucy even described the experience as ‘one big sleepover’! Milisha described all the women she’d met as ‘amazing’, although at times you do feel your self-confidence slip a bit, looking at all these other beautiful, incredible women, wondering what you’re doing there. She reminded herself – and wants to remind others – that the only person you need to compete against is yourself, and that you just need to aim to be better than you were the day before – wise words!

I did briefly touch on the Tenji/Michelle R. episode and the overall feeling was that these things are bound to happen, living in such close proximity and with everything being much more intense than in a ‘normal’ situation. All three ladies said that for these reasons, it’s impossible not to be your authentic self and to show who you truly are, even if you came into the House attempting to show a different face – the masks were inevitably going to slip pretty quickly.

The self-confidence thing intrigued me though. A show such as The Bachelor can give your self-confidence a huge knock. Daneal was clear about the fact that you obviously need to have a certain amount of self-confidence going into something like this. You know that not everyone will love you and you know that people will form opinions about you. She agreed that it’s tough to put yourself out there on such a grand scale to be scrutinised but it’s a decision you make and one that you need to be comfortable with.

Lucy isn’t on Twitter, but uses other social media platforms. She says she’s not really phased by stuff like that, but has found that the feedback she’s seen has been positive and supportive. We did chat about the group date and she said she’d felt very self-conscious, wishing afterwards that she’d felt a lot more confident and had done things differently in that situation.

Interestingly, none of these three ladies went in with a strategy or a game plan. Are they devastated to be out of the running so early in the show? To be honest – not really.

To quote Milisha – “I’m getting back to my life, which is awesome! I love my home, my family, my friends, my job and my dog!” Not only is she proud of herself, but so are her family and friends. She got to know so much about herself and learned to love herself a lot more too.

About Lee, she says – “He has amazing energy, but he wasn’t ‘the one’.”

For Lucy it was too soon to tell if Lee was her forever man and Daneal took the pragmatic approach, saying that she’d just thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, learning whatever she could from it and knowing that the bonds that were created with her fellow competitors would last a lifetime.

And so… 18 girls are left. What surprises are in store for them and for our Bachelor, Lee Thompson? You’ll have to watch weekly on Mnet Channel 101, Thursdays at 19:00. Don’t panic if you miss it! It’ll be on Catch Up!

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Thenji and Michelle.R have a dramatic confrontation and three women say goodbye on The Bachelor SA

This week’s hour-long episode of M-Net’s reality dating show The Bachelor SA delivered on all the drama, romance and adventure viewers were promised at the start of the season.

Graceful Belle and recipient of South Africa’s first-impression rose, Michelle Reddy, was called out on her lack of authenticity by feisty sports coach Thenji and later the whole house. Feeling attacked, the damsel stormed out of the mansion in tears and demanded to be left alone. “Being ambushed is not a nice feeling,” Michelle said. “I thought certain girls would stand up [for me]… and nobody did.”

The claws came out early at the mansion and the only person to take on Thenji was the show’s sweetheart, Gina Myers. While things were being shaken up, Sustainable Lifestyle brand owner and blonde bombshell, Kelly, was enjoying the first one-on-one date with her hunk, Lee Thompson. The two enjoyed a romantic tour around Lee’s hometown, Cape Town, and later relaxed on a yacht with the Mother City’s beautiful sunset as backdrop. During the date, Lee and Kelly developed a strong connection and also enjoyed some intimate moments, after which he presented her with a rose. Kelly returned to the mansion beaming, saying that “it feels like I’m falling fast and I don’t like it”.

Earlier that week, 10 lucky girls were invited on the very first group date – to a rugby field! “Play ball and you are in with a sporting chance,” the date card read. Lee invited Lucy, Annalene, Natasha, Jenna, Thenji, Milisha, Kerry, Shelly, Michelle.D and Mbali. who made it clear that she wasn’t very impressed to be invited to a sporting activity date. The girls were divided into two teams, “Peaches” and “Lee’s Angels” where they played a round of Zorb ball to win a breakaway date with their potential future partner, Lee. At the end of the game, Lee’s Angels (Lucy, Jenna, Thenji, Shelly and Mbali) came out strong and got the opportunity to get to know him better at a luxurious spa tucked away in the heart of Johannesburg.

Lee & Kelly share their very own romantic ‘Titanic’ moment!

After a week of dates, drama at the mansion and Lee’s connections with some of the ladies growing deeper, it was time for the much-anticipated rose ceremony where Lee only had 17 roses to hand out – sending Milisha, Daneal and Lucy home.

The Bachelor SA is screened on M-Net Channel 101 every Thursday evening at 19:00 and is also available on Catch-Up. Fans can visit www.mnet.tv/thebachelorsaand follow all the breaking news and conversations around the show on Twitter @MNet / #TheBachelorSA and on the official M-Net Facebook page.

The Bachelor SA is produced by Rapid Blue and proudly sponsored by dotsure.co.za , a product of Oakhurst Insurance Company Limited (FSP 39925) and Oakhurst Life (FSP 44793), authorised financial services providers.

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Every Thursday evening at 19h30, since the end of August, the charismatic Sharon Spiegel Wagner has had South Africans glued to their TV’s watching SABC3’s BEDFORD WIVES, as the local comedy-drama unfolds with her character, the feisty Despina Giannopolous, taking centre stage.

Set in the lavish but seedy Johannesburg east suburb of Bedfordview, Bedford Wives follows the lives of four women and a somewhat sordid community of Bedfordview criminals who, on the surface, live pristine and perfect lives but, behind closed doors, have skeletons in their closets and secrets aplenty.

When her charming restaurateur husband, Marco Giannopoulos, is found dead under a side of lamb and dripping in gourmet olive oil, Bedfordview housewife and Mrs South Africa entrant, Despina, vows to keep the family businesses going – but then learns the real family business is crime…

Nothing is at it seems…

I’m not ashamed to say I’m completely hooked, and won’t miss an episode! It’s completely addictive, and ticks all the boxes for unmissable TV!

I recently sat down for coffee and a chat with Sharon to find out what life’s been like for her since Bedford Wives hit our TV screens – and if you haven’t caught on yet (we’re already 9 episodes in with just 5 left), you can catch up on YouTube where you’ll find all past episodes.

And indeed, nothing is as it seems, because Sharon is quite delightful; modest and unassuming and not at all like her onscreen persona, Despina, who is very much the typical ‘Bedford Wife’ and wouldn’t be caught outside of the house (or probably inside, for that matter) without her full armour of make up, designer clothing and killer heels!

Although Sharon’s first love is definitely musical theatre, her experience on Bedford Wives has been so positive that it’s quite encouraged her to explore the possibility of further TV roles in the future. She wasn’t initially asked to audition for the role of Despina, and in fact, was the very last person to audition for the part. Just an hour later, she got a call from her agent to say she’d got the job. Sharon describes her complete shock at hearing the news, but once she realised that it was actually true, she was (I quote) “sublimely excited”. And it’s proved to be a dream from beginning to end with the entire cast and crew being not only amazing to work with, but also completely understanding and flexible around Sharon’s other role: that of being mom to her 2 young daughters, one of who was just a few months old at the time of filming the series.

It was this that made Sharon realise that she might quite like to pursue more TV work in the future as it’s more adaptable to family life. She loves the art of acting and has grown enough within it to know what’s right for her and what isn’t. When she knows a role’s not for her, she’s excited to see who will play it. This is the mark of a true professional, or as Sharon so aptly describes it: “There’s an actor that loves the art, and there’s the actor that loves himself in the art.” That individual who purely loves himself in the role, and who cannot bring himself to rejoice in the success of a colleague is not quite there yet, regardless of whatever talents may have been bestowed on them.

When asked if she’d be happy for her kids to work in a similar or related industry to the one she’s currently in, knowing what she knows about all of the demands and drawbacks as well as the constant struggles and one-upmanship that the business is notorious for, Sharon’s immediate reaction is “Preferably not!”

But then … on reflection … she reconsiders. She feels that no matter what career they decide to follow (even if they want to become actors), there has to be understanding, appreciation and love for what one does, and they need to feel a true purpose for what they’re doing. When it comes to sensitivity they need to know how the business works. She reiterates, “… especially this business.”

For now, Sharon is taking a break, spending time with her kids and thoroughly enjoying watching them grow. She’d love to do more TV work, and is thrilled that Bedford Wives has opened up new horizons for her. We shared our strong views on how absolutely crucial it is for women to support each other and encourage each other. So often though, you find the opposite happening – we tear each other apart, instead of building each other up! Here once again, Sharon returns to the Bedford Wives set, speaking admiringly of her female director who allowed her the freedom to add her own interpretation into her role of Despina, or as she describes it, “a bit of quirk,” and who put her at complete ease with some scenes that she might otherwise have felt quite uncomfortable performing.

So, what’s next after this break? “Something BIG … I hope,” laughs Sharon, explaining that this is usually the work pattern that she follows. Whether it’s back on stage, where she feels most at home, or on our TV screens playing another feisty, go-getting, glitzy leading lady, Sharon puts heart and soul into everything she does, so whatever it is, we know it’s going to be fabulously fantastic!!